Yesterday's Parents
by NarukoxJero
Summary: Umino Naruko has been commissioned to preform a life altering experiment on a fellow ninja. Can she bring herself to do it when that ninja is her husband! WARNING!MPREG!
1. Chapter 1

**"WHAT!?"**

The shock literally knocked me from my chair and I sat on the floor wincing in pain.

"They want me to what!?"

The Black ops agent stood perfectly strait with his hands behind his back, his face covered by a porcelain mask representing some random animal.

"It's a direct order from the Council of Elders. You have been commissioned to test the wonders of male pregnancy."

I could tell he was amused at the proposition by the sound of his voice.

"You'll find the details of your experiment here" he said, handing me a thin file.

I skimmed over the neatly stacked papers trying to stop the monstrous reddening of my face to be seen, the embarrassment cancelling out most of the throbbing pain in my right arm.

I composed myself, closed the file and looked up at the government lackey standing before me. Even with his mask I could tell he was epically failing to suppress a guffaw of laughter.

"So basically I am to pick any live male subject of my choosing, perform any life altering surgery I see fit, and make sure both the mother-errrr father and child live.

He nodded. "It's very open ended. I'm sure they trust you. I mean, your expertise as a medical ninja is second to none. If you had not broken your arm on that last mission, you would be taking on S-ranked missions with the rest of the Black-op corps, Naruko-ku(WHAK!!)

"**Does the Hokage think just because I can't go on missions, he can un- load this crap on me!?Well screw him!! I'm not doing this!! There are tons of more important things going on in Konoha right now, and this isn't one of them!!"**

The black op retreated out the door and down the hallway, as he was being rained upon by medical text books, scrolls, paper weights, and anything else I could get my hand on.

"Knock, knock!" a familiar voice chimed in the doorway.

'Oh, just flippin' great!!'

I turn to see none other than Umino Jero, black ops ninja, number one rookie at the academy, and total beef cake. He just happens to be my husband, too!

I bend down to pick up the mess, covering my practically scarlet face with my front bangs.

"What do you want, Jero." I ask in the most serious voice I could muster.

"Well, I was coming in to see how you were doing when I heard the commotion," he explained picking up the thin file from the floor. "What's this," he asked flipping through the now, not so neatly stacked papers.

Startled, I yank the file out of his hands before he can make sense of it. "Oh, it's nothing!" I lied putting it into a stack of books, which I then stuffed into the shelf behind my desk. "So, how's it going?!"


	2. Chapter 2

After work, Jero and I walked home. He said that the way I was going after that black op, I should be well enough to go back to S-ranked missions in two weeks.

That whole stupid experiment thing was still swirling around in my head, but I was totally looking forward to dinner and sleep, but low and behold, Watsuki Yoshino stood on the porch of our modest one bedroom house.

"Hey, you two love birds are in late! You guys on a date or something?!" the 12 year old said waving her arm in the air to get our attentions.

"What do you want, Yoshino?" Jero said, clearly annoyed at the surprise.

"I made Chunin!! And besides, I haven't seen you guys in a long time and I was hoping we could go to Ichiraku or something! It's my treat!"

"**OK! Let's go!" I demanded, already half way down the road to Ichiraku.**

At the ramen shop I ordered my favorite, miso ramen and slurped happily away as we caught up on things. ? Yoshino talked mostly…….

"……I'm so glad I made Chunin! Next week I'm headed for Kirigakure for recon missions! Ohh, this whole war thing is a drag though …Oh! And did you guys know Haruhi is preggers!! Guess who the father is? Go on guess! Blah blah blah blah…Ohhh…When are you guys gonna start poppin' out kids or adopting or whatever!

AGH! KAKK!!BLECH!!( sound of me choking on my ramen and chopsticks.)

Jero looked over at me and patted me on the back to un-lodge the now deadly, but still yummy noodles from my windpipe.

After my fit, Jero calmly put down his chopsticks and answered Yoshino's question.

"Well, Naru-chan and I have never really discussed it. I mean, we're both rookie black ops, so bringing a child into the picture is just not a good idea. Also, Naru- chan and I have only been married for a year and a half, and we're only 16. I guess you could say we're just not at that place in our lives right now."

"Well……If you were to have a child would you want a boy or a girl? Oh! And what would you name it? And who would you want it to take after?" asked Yoshino, unable to let it go.

"Yoshino, he already said that-," I butted in, trying to catch my breath.

"I would like a girl, and I've always liked the name Tsubame, and I hope she would take after Naru-chan, but have my common sense." He chuckled slightly.

Yoshino grinned at him and ordered us another round of sake on the rocks.

But I couldn't keep my eyes off of Jero. It sounded as though he had put so much thought into it. How could I not have known? The thought of children had never crossed my mind. Like Jero had said earlier; 'We're just not in that place in our lives right now', but I……

We came home a lot later that night. Yoshino couldn't even walk to her house so Jero and I had to literally drag her home and put her in bed.

Even though I was tired I wasn't sleepy, so I just laid in bed looking up at the ceiling, praying I wouldn't be too hung over to show up tomorrow. Jero who was just a 

little less tipsy than I was, nearly killed himself trying to remove his pants, finally realizing that he needed to take his shoes off.

He crawled into bed and threw himself on the mattress, making it shake for a moment. I didn't know what I wanted to say, but I wanted to say something. Like my head couldn't put into words all the questions my brain was forming. Just then felt a warm, strong arm wrap around me and pull me closer.

'"You're troubled," Jero's voice was deep and solid. "What's wrong?"

"Am I a good wife!? Like, are you happy as you are?" I blurted out, even though that was not the question on my mind.

Jero held me closer, his warmth, almost unbearable, and the mist-like odor of sake, around him was calming me.

"Of course you are. What would make you think otherwise? Are you not happy?" he said sounding concerned. He snuggled down deeper into the covers "I love you Naru-chan."

I sighed, feeling sorry that I worried him for the slightest moment.

"Love you too, Jero." I said, turning around to face him and buried my head in his muscular chest.

"Good night, querira." He said sleepily, his warmth blanketing me. "'Night"………

The next morning as I sit at my desk, clutching my head with my good hand, I flipped through some of the medical text books I had on the big shelf behind my desk, trying to find some cure for hangover.

The door opened and the same black op agent from the day before cautiously stuck his head in. I glared at him.

"Hey, don't kill the messenger! I'm just here to report that, the Hokage says that if you continue to defy a direct order from the council of elders you could get demoted."

"WHAAATTTT!! OWWWW!! GET OVER HERE!! OWWWW!!" I screamed, which was no simple feat, considering the size of my headache, and chased the idiot down the hall.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ohhh…..my head is killing me. I wonder if Naru-chan has anything in her books about hangovers."

Jero walked into Naruko's office, surprised to find it empty and started flipping pages in a large leather bound book sitting already open on his wife's desk.

A few pages near the back seemed to have been bookmarked, so Jero skipped to them. There he found the thin file folder he had picked up the day before. Curiosity getting the better of him, he opened it, skimming through the paragraphs, finally stopping at one word: Male Pregnancy. He flipped through the pages, looking at charts and diagrams that deemed the experiment as risky and dangerous with a high possibility of death. Then, the last page was titled: Likely Candidates, subtitled: These ninja have been deemed suitable, by having the correct body types for the experiment, but the choice is yours. On it listed the names of about six or seven male ninja. And at the end of the list was his name.

Jero suddenly thought back to what he could remember about the night before.

"When are guys gonna start poppin' out kids?"

"Augh!! KAK! HACK!!" "I've always wanted a girl, and I've always liked the name Tsubame…"

"Am I a good wife? Like, are you happy as you are?"

'What is this…? Is she considering using a live subject for the experiment?' Throwing himself into Naruko's seat, Jero put his head into his hands, partly because he didn't know what to make of the circumstances but mostly because of his throbbing headache.

"I'm not doing the experiment!!"

Jero was suddenly startled awake.

'What's going on? Naru-chan? How long have I been asleep?'

"But Naruko-kun, you'll be demoted,"

Jero's eyes widened at the last word.

"I don't care! Did you see the list of names in that file? I don't even know most of those people! How can a total stranger just waltz in and ruin their lives like that?! It's not right!!"

"I'll do it," Jero calmly walked out of Naruko's office, to see her and a bruised black ops agent talking just outside the doorway.

WHAAAAATTT??

Yoshino nearly fell out of her chair. "How!? I mean WHY?!"

"I was against it at first too, but he said it's what he wants." I tried to explain to her as we sat in Jonin Station. "As for how, we spent five months performing surgery to improve the structure of pelvis and to make a temporary uterus for the child to develop in, and then left another five months for him to recover. The last 6 months were trial and error. " I noticed Jero's eyes darken a bit.

"It'll be 8 weeks tomorrow since the fertilized egg was implanted. And besides, it's not like it's a random test tube baby. It's our child I'm carrying." Jero commented trying to open her mind to the whole event.

"But….." Yoshino tried.

"Look, Yoshino," Jero seemed to grunt slightly as he stood up. "Naru-chan already warned me about all the risks, and I was willing to go through the surgeries to prove that I am serious about this. Naru-chan is my wife and I'll support her anyway I can. I'll do anything to make her happy, till death do us part, remember?"

Jero turned around and headed towards the door. "I just need to pee first."

Yoshino looked at me smiling, "He's so cute sometimes. I guess I'll have to get used to this whole guy pregnancy thing. I can't wait till he starts to show."

"Till death….."


	4. Chapter 4

After I came to my senses, I chased Jero down the hall to stop him from peeing. We then made our way to Konoha Hospital. After I had agreed to the experiment I ordered an ultra-sound machine to be moved to the most secluded wing of the Hospital so we wouldn't be bothered.

We had been using the sonogram for the last 8 weeks, checking once every two weeks to see if the egg had taken and was developing correctly. This was the fourth implanted egg and the only one that had survived this long. I decided against implanting multiple eggs, fearing that the massive stress two children would have on his body could kill him. This was the only time I had implanted two. The experiment was top secret, but I figured that everyone would figure it out eventually, especially when Jero started to show.

Yoshino had been invited only because she would have been pissed if we didn't tell her eventually, and I guess I had faith in our lucky number four. I handed Jero a hospital gown and pointed him to a bathroom where he could change. Yoshino and I walked into the musty check-up room. I turned on the lights to find the switch to the sonogram and let the machine warm up.

I asked Yoshino to turn the lights off, just as Jero walked in, holding the back of his gown shut with one hand. I glared at him playfully "You're wearing boxers under there, right?" "Maybe…" he said, prompting Yoshino to laugh like crazy.

Jero, then laid down on the cot with a sigh. "I'm ready, Doctor!" he said playfully as he lifted the gown to reveal his muscular abdomen, that was completely flat, with the exception of a slightest, firm bulge under his navel. I squirted a dollop of smelly goo on his lower stomach and rubbed it flat with the transducer, and looked at the fuzzy image appearing on the screen. Inoue squealed like a school girl.

The screen showed a faint image of a small body, that was mostly head. I pressed the transducer deeper into his abdomen, when he grabbed my arm, startling me. I looked up to see his stunned face, dark eyes staring intently at the screen ,his hand guiding mine to a part of his lower abdomen that gave the best picture.

I looked at the screen, trying to suppress the massive blush appearing on my face. "Ahem!" I said trying to sound as professional as I could muster. "Well, it seems that this time the specimen took! It's alive, Jero!" I stared at him, and I couldn't be happier! Warm tears stung the ends of my eyes, as I sat there with the most ridiculous smile on my face!

Jero then put his hands over his face and gave a groan-ish noise and then laughed excitedly. When he took his hands down, I could see tears forming on the ends of his eyes too. We were so happy!

Everything is going to be okay! This one is alive! I reached out and hugged Jero, repeating those words echoing through my head. I felt Jero's warm tears stain through my shirt as he nodded and gave out a small sob. Yoshiro jumped up and down laughing, and begging to be the godmother. Jero trembled and held me closer to him, unwilling to let go. "I-I lo-ove you, Naru-ch-chan!" Jero half sobbed, half whispered unable to get his breath back. "I love you too, Jero!" I wailed.

This feeling, joy! An emotion Jero and I have not felt in a while.

I can still remember Jero's cries of agony after the first 2 surgeries. Even though the first one, to improve his pelvis for the task of carrying the child was a complete success, Jero was in extreme pain. Though this was completely normal, seeing the normally stoic team leader that had the impeccable ability to stay cool under pressure, writhe on the bed, pale from the operation and looking utterly miserable, made me question all my training and expertise. Those first few weeks, Jero couldn't even look at me. He seemed almost ashamed of himself.

Pain killers only provided temporary relief and seeing him like that…..there were nights that I kneeled at the side of his bed and cried while he slept. After physical therapy to re-teach him how to walk, his mood improved and he started talking more.

After a temporary uterus was implanted, we gave Jero 5 months of recovery time, before we tried to do anything. We injected him with hormones to make his body 

less likely to reject the zygote. During this time we got to talk a lot about the baby. We decided the baby would be ours. He said he wanted a girl, and that's what I did.

(Subject: Umino Jero Progress: 3 months 2 weeks)

"Auughhhh…!"

"Jero! Hold on!! Please!!"

The stench of blood was heavy and was giving me a headache. Jero lay in the tub face twisted in agony and clutching his swollen lower abdomen with blood tipped fingers. He was bleeding badly. I used my medical ninjutsu to make my hands glow with a buzzing blue light. I pressed my hands over his, and concentrated on making the bleeding stop.

"I-I'm so s-sorry, N-naru-chan!!" He said looking down at the place where his and my hands rested on his abdomen, gritting his teeth, and tears streaming down his face. I looked at him and felt terrible. The bleeding stopped that instant and I lifted my hands and leaned back resting my head against the tub, opposite to Jero.

I looked at my hands, stained with blood. My husband's blood. My husband who was carrying our child. My 17 year old husband, who was carrying our child. I was disgusted with myself. I stared at my hands in a trance like state.

"Naru-chan…."

I looked up, awakened from my trance to see Jero barely able to speak through the tears.

"Naru-chan…It hurts….it hurts…our baby…I-I lost it!! I c-can't feel it anymore!! S-she's gone!!" He sobbed "Naru-chan, don't hate me!! I'm sorry!! S-so so so sorry….." and with the last apology his head fell forward.


	5. Chapter 5

"Jero!!"

I rushed over to his side of the tub and checked his vitals. His heart was beating too fast, but other than that he seemed fine. Tears fell from my eyes and on to Jero's chest, melting into the drops of blood splattered there. He didn't see this as just an experiment. Jero seemed to see it more as a test of his devotion to me, and now this symbol of our love was gone. I hated myself for doing this to him. Now, the only thing I could do for him was to cure his body, not his heart.

My right hand propped his head up as my left started to glow blue once more. I scanned my left hand over his chest to calm his heart beat. I relaxed the muscles in his face to give him a serine look of sleep. And for the last task I had to make his body expel the child.

My hand hovered over the curve of his lower abdomen, buzzing with energy. It trembled there for a few seconds, until I sighed and the glowing light dissipated. I let my hand fall to the spot over his stomach. I laid down next to Jero, who was asleep and breathing quietly. I held him tightly with my right arm and rubbed my left hand in small circular patterns under his navel.

I awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside the small window of the bathroom. My right arm was asleep under Jero, who was still breathing quietly. My left hand was still perched on Jero's stomach. I was too tired to even care that we were still lying in the tub. I scooted up closer to Jero for warmth as he almost instinctively hugged me closer with his left arm, and I sighed with contentment.

Just as I was falling back to sleep, I felt something. I was too tired to even notice it at first, but the second time it happened I was sure.

I felt a something move.

My eye lids flew open and I pulled away from Jero in surprise. His eyes were already open, and he had his right hand over his lower abdomen. He looked up at me and smiled a beautiful smile.

"I'm sorry I worried you, Naru-chan," He said with his the usual deep, calm timbre in his voice. "I think everything is okay now."

I smiled back at him and laughed "How can you be so sure. Damnit." I said as tears welled up in my eyes, making me blush.

"I don't know for sure, but I think we might be having two." Jero said sheepishly.

--

Okay, sorry about the changes, but I got an idea last night and I had to change it. I hope you like the new direction of the story!! Review Please!! I really wanna hear from you guys!! Don't hate me, and easy readin'!!


	6. Chapter 6

"**I hope you can understand Naruko-kun. I know this experiment is important to you, but Konoha needs your help in the field of battle."**

I stared at the floor, unable to look the black op in the eye. Jero stood, leaning against the wall, his strong arms wrapped delicately around his stomach.

"Why did the council give me the experiment, if there was a chance that I couldn't see the whole thing through?" I asked in a low voice, finally finding the words.

"This was unforeseeable. The Village hidden in the Mist might launch an attack against us. The Hokage has ordered any spare shinobi it can find to the coast. Honestly, you are the last person the Hokage wants to send, but you are the one of the best medical ninja in the village. And Jero-kun is one of the best jonin we have, and he's in no condition to fight."

Jero shifted his feet quietly at the remark. I looked up at the back op, ready to decline the order. How could I do this to Konoha? I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. A warm hand fell on to my shoulder that instant. "She accepts."Jero said calmly, right hand still on my shoulder, his left placed lightly on his growing stomach that was beginning to become visible under his shirt. "She'll be ready for deployment tomorrow morning."

I stared at Jero, unable to avert my gaze. I didn't even notice the black op nod and leave. Jero closed the door and walked away leaving me standing, looking down at the floor in the middle of the dark living room. I didn't even realize a single tear roll down my cheek, until it hit the floor.

I fell to my knees and on the floor and sobbed quietly. I buried my face in my knees, hoping that Jero couldn't hear me. But, he did. I could feel his presence as he silently made his was from the kitchen to the living room where I was, crouched into a pathetic ball of uselessness.

He kneeled and placed a cup of tea next to my head. Then, he sat down, Indian style next to the pathetic ball of uselessness he called a wife. He leaned back slightly, putting his weight on his left arm and using his right to rub the slight curve of his belly thoughtfully.

"Y'know, I've been to the coast, and it's very nice." He said with an uncharacteristically optimistic tone in his voice. "The ocean is beautiful, there are dolphins, the food is great, and the girls are hot."

I turned my head and glared at him, hoping he'd see it under all of the hair covering my face.

He smiled coyly at me; grinning at the fact that he still knew exactly what it took to annoy me.

"I wasn't looking or anything, but I bet the guys over there are hot too. Yeah, and over there all the men are tanned, sailors who walk around shirtless."

A big screaming blush appeared on my face, and I looked away shoving the image into the back of my mind for later. (heh heh)

"Naru-chan! You're not thinking about leaving your fat, useless husband for a tan, muscular sailor are you." He said with sickeningly mock tone of shock.

My face burned. "No!! As long as he doesn't leave me for some slutty water ninja!" I said rearing up playfully, shoving him to the floor and straddling his front, like I had always done before, when he was acting up. He had a look of surprise on his face, and I realized what I had done. I flinched and pulled back to where I now just sat on his lower thighs, but he grabbed my hands in his before I was able to get off.

"Jero! I'm so sorry! I don't know how I could've forgotten?! Are you okay!? Is the baby…" I stammered. Jero's look of surprise melted into a gentle smile. "It's okay, Naru-chan." He said, pulling me closer. "They don't mind."

He wrapped his arms around me. He was so warm and his lips were so gentle against my body. I would pull away every now and again fearing I would hurt the babies, but Jero would pull me back and tell me it was okay. Everything after that was nothing but a warm memory.

My eyes flew open and I looked up at the ceiling. I glanced at the clock across the living room. 2:30 a.m. I groaned and rolled over, whacking Jero in the face with my elbow. He half groaned, half yelped in shock, and sat up rubbing his face. " Naru-chan!" he whined sleepily "what did I do?!"

Jero glanced around the room, realizing we were still sleeping on the floor of the living room. "Naru-chan, we need to go to bed." He said standing up with a little grunt.

I groaned and stood up rubbing my eyes. "Okay, I'll go get breakfast…" I mumbled.

"Oh, no you don't Naru-chan!" Jero said lifting me up and cradling me in his arms like a child.

"Jero! You'll hurt yourself." I said my eyes wide with shock. " It's okay Naru-chan…" He said calmly, heading towards the bedroom. He set me down on the bed, the sheets cool under my body and tucked me in. " I'm not a child" I protested sleepily, curling up under the blanket. He climbed in on the other side, and scooted closer to me. " I'm sorry Naru-chan. I didn't know you felt so strongly about dolphins." Jero said with a smile

"It's not that." I answered. "It's just that I don't want to leave you alone. What if you go into labor before I get back, or what if something goes wrong while I'm gone, or what if I don't make it back…"

" Naru- chan. That's what being a ninja is all about. It's never bothered you before."

"But now we have something worth protecting, and not being there for them, the idea scares me." Jero was quiet. He stared down at his belly, caressing it slightly with his hand. He spoke, "Well, what do you want to name them?"

I looked up at him. He looked back down at me. "We've named the girl, what about the boy?"

--

Kinda long I know!! Please stick with me!! It'll get better! Please review! I need the support...plz!!


	7. Chapter 7

(Subject: Umino Jero Progress: 7 months 2 weeks)  
A month and a half later….

Jero answered the door and took the letter handed to him. His heart skipped a beat for a moment, for he wasn't sure what kind of news the letter held. He placed a hand over his now very pregnant belly. The letter carrier ninja nodded his head and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Jero closed the door and tossed the letter on the coffee table in front of the sofa. He paced around the table nervously, not knowing what to do.

It was getting dark outside by the time, curiosity getting the better of him; he sat on the sofa with difficulty, and tore open the letter. He gave a big sigh, silently praying that the letter would not begin with the statement:

'We regret to inform you…'

Finally, composing himself, he flipped the letter open. He stared at it in shock; he then threw his head back against the sofa and laughed. He sighed and rubbed his stomach, and cooed to the children inside him. "Let's see what your mother, has to say about her trip."

The letter read:

**Dear Jero,**

**I have to say you were right. The people here are hot. And because of this I have decided to leave you for one of those hot bikini babes you were talking about. Her name is Sachiko; we are very happy together. I will send for my things in a week.**

**Jero, I hope you're still reading and not sending a group of ANBU to hunt me down. I swear, you could never take a joke! **

**I've been here for almost 3 weeks and I'm missing you guys more and more each day. The ocean is even more beautiful than you described it, Jero. I love sitting on the beach after missions, and watching the dolphins jump out of the water. The food is great, too. There have been a few small **

**foreign shinobi groups found near the coast, but nothing too dangerous. If this keeps up I should be back in a month. **

**I hope you and the babies are doing well. Don't overdo it! If you feel tired, rest. Don't be lifting heavy things! Are you eating well? Keep on taking your prenatal vitamins. And eat your vegetables. Drink plenty of fluids.**

Jero rolled his eyes.

**Don't roll your eyes at me! I'm serious!! They're my kids too!! I'm so worried about you guys. I'll be back soon so don't worry about me. I love you, Jero. Best wishes.**

** Always yours,**

**Umino Naruko**

Relieved Jero held the letter close to himself. "I love you, too Naruko." He sighed. He felt the familiar movement of the children, shifting a bit inside him. He struggled to pick himself up from the sofa, using every technique he could think of. Finally, he made his way to the bedroom and laid down, the cold sheets being an unwelcome shock to his body. Jero placed Naruko's letter on her side of the bed as he curled up under the covers.

A single tear fell down his cheek.

He never let on. Jero missed Naruko more than he ever did before. His hormones were raging at this point, but even if Naruko were there with him he'd never tell her. He hadn't all the times before. All the mornings he would wake up sick, he'd give Naruko a chore to do away from the house so he could throw up without making her feel bad. He would often sent Yoshino for midnight snack runs so he wouldn't wake Naruko, but now things were different.

His back hurt, he was always tired, his feet ached, his ankles were swollen, he had trouble sleeping at night, and was peeing constantly. The fact that Naruko was gone made everything worse. He sobbed quietly into the pillow.

'Jero! Don't do that…..The children can feel your heart beat, and when you get like that it upsets them.' She says in a concerned voice. 'I'm okay and I'll be home in a few weeks, so stop worrying. I love you, Jero.' She tilts her head to the side and smiles softly…so beautiful.

Jero awoke instantly. He looked at the clock. He had been asleep for 3 hours. Naruko's gentle scolding had been a dream. He thought for a moment, about what had been said and smiled.

" yes, ma'am.."


	8. Chapter 8

_Umino Naruko sat on the beach, and stared at the sunset after a hard mission. Fifteen ninjas from the Hidden Mist Village had launched a surprise attack half a mile from camp and, using their silent killing jutsu, had slaughtered 3 chunin, 5 genin and 12 civilians before reinforcements were able to come._

_She sighed, resting back into the sand, the battle playing out like a movie on the insides of her eyelids. Every movement, every attack, everything said, how doing something different would have led to a better outcome. But the conclusion was blunt. Nothing could have been done better. The outcome was as good as it could have been._

_A dark dolphin shaped silhouette leaped from the water and landed back with a splash, bringing Naruko from her trance. The sun had left the sky blazing red, reminding Naruko further of the events of the day. She turned and left heavyhearted, but figured to herself that, this is what being a ninja is all about. _

I returned to camp and noticed that the light in my tent was on. Lifting the canvas door I spotted none other than Watsuki Yoshino standing on **my** cot, with **my** 75,000 yen black satin lingerie set that Jero bought me for **my** birthday last year stretched over** her** Chunin vest.

"Ooh…I'm Naruko! I've got the hottest guy in the village all to myself and I'm still an nagging, uptight--YOSHINO!!" Yoshino flew off the cot in shock. "AGH!! Naruko-ku- I mean sensei!! I didn't see you! I'll take this off right away!!" She stammered saluting a total of six times before poking herself in the eye.

"No! Stop! You'll stretch out the elastic!" I said flinging myself at the little girl to stop her from tearing the bra in half.

"Argh! Quit!! I can do it!! You know what?!Get off!! Or just put it back on!!" She argued back at me, who, at this point was on top of her clawing at the precious keepsake, being stretched beyond repair on her bulky vest.

"OKAY!! Fine!! WE'LL GET IT ON!! I screamed, on the verge of losing it.

"Ehem…"

We turned to see a group of curious chunin standing in the doorway with a jonin pushing through the crowd.

"Everyone! Urgent news from Konoha!! The Villiage is under attack! We need fifteen, four man squads ready for battle!" The Jonin ordered

My blood ran cold. 'Jero! Everyone!'

Yoshino yanked me up from the ground, shoved the bra and panties into my already packed bag and shoved the bag into my stomach. Grabbing my arm she sprinted out of the tent and the two of us flew into the forest.

Yoshino and I leaped at top speed towards the villiage. I kept up with the unusually silent Yoshino. " Yoshino! What's wrong? I thought you'd be glad to show off your abilities in real battle." I asked, trying to convince myself in my head that Jero and the villiage would be okay when we got to Konoha.

"Naruko," Yoshino looked over at me with the most serious expression I had ever seen on her face. "The letter warning us, I was in the tent that it arrived in. Jero wrote that letter. Naruko, Jero's gone into labor. We have to get to the village, now!"

(aprox. 208 dollars)

--

Sorry for the cliff hanger. I'm sorry I'm speeding things up so much. I'm just trying to get to the action!:)

Uhh, I hope you liked the story, and there will be another soon!! Please review!! I wanna hear your opinions! Other than that easy reading!!

Uhh, sorry about the change again!! Don't hate me!! It's just that I get ideas after I've posted the stories. Just trying to make the stories more interesting! Once again sooo sorry!


	9. Chapter 9

(Subject: Umino Jero Progress: 7 months 3 weeks 5 days)

Birds chirped happily outside of the Umino home as Jero woke up. It was 11: 43 am, much later than Jero was used to waking up at. The weight of the children on his body was exhausting him. He thought because of his height, he would be able to handle twins, but he now found himself following Naruko's orders and resting. He sat on the edge of the bed rubbing his aching lower back.

Jero sat up with much difficulty, and using his arms to support his back, he glanced at the full-length mirror hanging from the open closet door. He sighed, lifting an eyebrow up as he stared at the _him_ he had come to know over the past 8 months.

His shirt stretched thin over his immense stomach, which was completely round with the exception of a small bump in the center where his naval had popped 4 months earlier. Pulling his shirt smooth he examined his development. He then removed his shirt completely to get a better look.

He looked down at his swollen stomach in the mirror. His once flat abs, were barely holding together what little ab-dignity they had. Because of Naruko's special scar creams he lacked stretch marks though. He examined his once flat, muscular chest, now swollen and heavy like his belly. Dark circles were forming under his eyes from all the nights he couldn't get to sleep. For a second he was glad Naruko wasn't here to see him like this.

Suddenly a sharp, numb ache ran through his lower abdomen surprising him. He grabbed his belly and held his hands over the place where his children rested, safe and warm. He waited to see of the pain would return, but it didn't. His eyebrows slanted with worry. He had felt the same pain 3 times last night, and it was starting to concern him. With Naruko gone, he couldn't afford anything going wrong. He rubbed his hands over his stomach and smiled softly, trying to calm down. The babies moved slightly and thumped against the insides of his palms.

He sighed and smiled, a beautiful smile. He held his belly in his arms and hummed softly, letting them know everything would be okay. But as the day progressed he started to doubt that. His back ached worse than he felt he could handle. And the pains were getting worse and occurring more and more frequently, almost 30 minutes apart now.

"Aaaarrrgh!! "He groaned in agony as he stood leaning, one arm against the wall, the other clutching his belly. After a minute he stood up straight, the pain fading, and the sweat dripping from his face. "That's it…." He panted heavily.

He made several hand signs and transformed into an illusion of his former self. "I have less than 30 minutes to get to the hospital." Though it looked flat, his stomach felt just as swollen as usual, and he held it close as he jumped from the rooftops of Konoha.

--

sorry, this one is kind of short. Hope you liked it! Review if you want! PLZ!! other than that, have a nice day!:)


	10. Chapter 10

**My heart skipped a beat and my whole body ran cold.**

**Jero…already in labor! Is he okay? They got the letter 15 minutes ago. It takes Konoha's fastest hawk to reach the coast in 1 hour.**

**I took a giant leap and landed about 10 meters in front of Yoshino. I leapt as fast as I could, tree to tree. "Jero! I'm coming!!"**

The hospital was still 6 miles away as Jero paused to take a breath. Sitting on a branch of a tree facing Konoha Park, he panted hard rubbing his flat, aching stomach. Over the nine months of rest he had been storing large amounts of his chakra in and around the babies to protect them from harm. As he rubbed, he filtered chakra from his hand into the children to calm them as they squirmed uncomfortably inside him.

Just then another intense wave of stabbing pain took hold of his lower abdomen. He grabbed his stomach and screamed, alerting 3 academy students that were practicing their ninjutsu under the tree. Taro screamed back in terror, rushing to the tree and pulling out the handful of shuriken he had just thrown into it. "What did you do now?!" asked Yumi, clearly exasperated.

Taro fell on to his back after yanking out all of the shuriken. Pointing a trembling finger at the tree he cried, "Th-that tree screamed!! I swear! You guys have gotta believe me this time!"

"That's impossible! What have I told you about lying?!" Several Aritomos' accused, before poofing into a single one.

Panting, Jero tried desperately to calm the twins, only for another tearing pain to take hold of his stomach. He let out another scream of agony.

"See! I'll prove to you that a tree cannot feel pain, let alone scream." Said Yumi pulling out a kunai from her bag, and running the blade across the side of the tree, at the exact moment that Jero's cry rained over them.

Yumi screeched in panic, as Taro hopped around yelling 'I told you so's' in Aritomo's face. The flood of pain was too much for Jero to handle and he blacked out, tilted to the left, and fell off the branch.

Aritomo's dark eyes flashed red as he made three hand signs and cloned five copies of himself that leaped up and caught Jero in mid air. Carefully hoisting him down, Aritomo asked indignantly, "Is this your screaming tree?" Yumi stared in amazement. "Ohhh! Aritomo, look! It's an ANBU! He has the mask and tattoo and everything." She said pulling Jero's porcelain mask off his flushed face.

Taro leaned in and patted the fallen shinobi's cheek in an attempt to wake him up. "He doesn't look so good, Ari-kun. Do you think he's hurt?"

"He doesn't look hurt! No blood or anything! Maybe he's sick!" Yumi supposed, lifting Jero's arms that were still gripping his flat stomach. Aritomo's eyes flashed red once more. With his recently awakened sharingan he scanned Jero's body. Jero groaned; coming to, glad to feel that the pains had passed. Grabbing the backs of Yumi and Taro's robes, Aritomo leaped twenty yards back.

"Get away from him! He's using the art of transformation!" exclaimed Aritomo, totally confused about what he saw. Even though he looked like his normal self, Jero stood up with as much difficulty as an eight month pregnant male would. "Would you like some help, ANBU-san!?" Taro asked, pulling free from the grasp of the trembling Aritomo. Yumi followed and both of them helped Jero to his feet, as Aritomo looked on.

Jero tried to continue on his way, but was flooded by questions.

"Woah! Are you really an ANBU?" Uhh, yeah, but I…..

"Ohh! What kind of animal do you have on your mask?!" I think it's a ra-….

"Do you get to pick the animal?" Well I….

"Have you ever killed anyone?" "Of course he's killed people, Taro!!" Guys, look, I really gotta-…

"OK! How many people have you killed?" Well, There's….

"What are you?" Everybody turned to Aritomo, standing straight, his hands held at his sides, and his dark eyes staring straight at Jero.

But before Jero even had a chance to open his mouth several huge explosions detonated on various spots throughout Konoha making the ground beneath them tremble. Yumi and Taro huddled close to Jero as dozens of foreign shinobi flooded the city from over the Hokage Rock. Jero looked on in disbelief. "No…" he gasped under his breath as Yumi and Taro wimpered by his side. "We have to warn the others!!" he ordered Aritomo, who stood, eyes wide with shock and fear.

Aritomo nodded as tried to gulp down the nervous lump in his throat. "Follow me!" Jero said as he leaped away, Yumi and Taro by his side and Aritomo gaining quickly.

--

New Chapter, Yeah!! Hope you enjoyed it. Please review and look forward to reading the next one! :)


	11. Chapter 11

Jero and the kids made their way through the billowing smoke clouds that engulfed the streets of Konoha. Jero stopped followed by Taro, Yumi, and Aritomo; skidding to a halt on the roof of what he figured was the Hokage's Tower. He looked in both directions, trying to get his bearings straight in the smoke and confusion.

Just then a chill ran down his spine. He spun around flinging a windmill shuriken inches above the heads of the three startled children. Blood splattered everywhere as the slaughtered form of a Mist ninja materialized behind them. Retrieving his blade Jero looked at the trebling children.

"Aritomo is it? Can you use your sharingan to tell me when someone comes near? Taro and Yumi, you two stay up front and clear the way." The children snapped out of their gore induced daze. They looked up at Jero and nodded, clearly unsure.

"It's okay!" Jero said, trying a little too hard to sound optimistic. "I'll protect you all, even if it costs me my life." All three took off once more.

The roar of battle…The sound of blades clashing….

The few shinobi, including The Hokage, genin, academy students and the administrative officials, battled fiercely protecting the village. Jero and the children bounded from the roofs of Konoha, picking off any enemies that tried to get in their way.

Aritomo scanned the perimeter and pointed out an enemy's presence seconds before they made an attack. "Nine o' clock! Two of them!"

Taro and Yumi would usually hit them before Jero could. "Art of Transformation!!" Taro awkwardly made the hand signs and transformed into an ox, rushing the attacker and trampling over him. Yumi flung a handful of kunai at the second one, prompting him to fall back, off the building. The two academy students leaped back into formation and hopped up the two stories to information tower.

The tower was completely empty, except for the many falcons in their cages picking at their feathers, ready to go. Grabbing a handful of empty scrolls from the shelf, Jero and the children wrote as fast as they could, telling any Konoha ninja that the village was under attack and to bring reinforcements as fast 

as they could. Aritomo readied several falcons, clasping their scroll pouches around their necks and slid the scrolls in. "Send this to the 12th squad division 5 patrolling the grass country." He whispered softly into the falcon's ear. After releasing almost all, but one falcon, Jero penned the last scroll. Taking the last falcon, Sakiko, he slid the scroll into her pouch and whispered into the eager falcon's ear, "Send this to the 23rd squad 9th division patrolling the southern coastline."

Sakiko took off brilliantly, leaving a couple of feathers drifting downwards.

As Jero watched the falcon quickly gain speed and disappear along the horizon, he placed a hand over his lower abdomen feeling minute movement. "Naru-chan…"

--

Ok...getting exciting I guess! If you have any questions review and I'll answer them to my full ability. Other than that...easy readin'!


	12. Chapter 12

Jero turned to see the three children trying to catch their breath. Taro and Yumi dusted the debris from their clothes and wiped the sweat from their faces, grinning asthey recalled all the close calls they had just had. Aritomo sat against the empty cages looking flushed. Using the sharingan so much drained his chakra supplies. But considering that these were academy students that couldn't have been over eight years old on their first real mission, Jero nodded to them.

"That was some great teamwork you displayed out there." Jero heard the clashing of blades seem to get closer to the tower. He sighed rubbing his lower abdomen. All that extra chakra stored was really helping him out, even though he had yet to really tap into it.

Jero dug into his pack and pulled out a couple of small pills. "Aritomo." The small, dark haired boy looked up at him. Jero carefully leaned down and handed Aritomo the tablets. "They're military ration pellets. You'll need them." Aritomo rolled the pills around in his hand. He turned his head and gazed into Jero's eyes.

"Mister... ANBU-san, when I look at you with my sharingan, I can see…" Aritomo placed a hand over Jero's lower stomach as the little boy's eyes flashed red. Jero put his hand over Aritomo's. "The sharingan is an amazing kekkei genkai, isn't it?" Jero ruffled Aritomo's hair with his other hand. "I am loyal to Konoha like all the other ninja in the village. I'm just protecting something a little more precious than everybody else.

Aritomo felt a strong kick against the palm of his hand. He pulled away in alarm. Jero stood up with a little difficulty.

"Okay everyone." Yumi and Taro turned their heads to see Jero and Aritomo headed for one of the many broken windows framing the room. "Are you guys ready to fight?"

"This is it." Yoshino cried as we leaped from the forest and on to the edge of Hokage rock. Yoshino gasped as she surveyed the once proud village. Smoke fogged the streets and we could hear battle cries still echoing through Konoha. It had taken us an hour and forty-five minutes to get here, meaning it had almost been three hours since the village was attacked. My chest ached, thinking about the location and condition Jero was in right now.

"Look!" Yoshino pointed to the south side of the village where even more enemy shinobi were trickling over the great wall surrounding Konoha. Yoshino scowled. "I'll show them what happens when you make light of Konoha." The Chunin bit her thumb and summoned a large eagle. Climbing on its back she looked down at me.

"What are you waiting for?! Go find Jero!" The young girl ordered. I swallowed the lump in my throat and grabbed a hand full of kunai. I grinned and leapt off of the side of the cliff ready to fight the battle of my life.

--

Sorry for the short one this time! Please, try to stick with me!! Please review! anything!Questions? I'll answer them.


	13. Chapter 13

Hyaaah!

Five water ninja to my left.

Slash! Next one. From above! Substitution!

Kunai! Blood…Behind me! Block! Kage Bushin no Jutsu!

Kick! Hit! Slash! More blood…I've got to find Jero….Ouch! Slash!

Shuriken from the right. Block! OW! Blade Dance! More blood…

Enemy shinobi swarmed the village, leaping over the wall in non-stop in groups of four or more. The more that came, the more I killed. There was no end in sight. I already checked the house. It was empty. I thought the worst as I headed towards the hospital. I skidded to a halt in the middle of Tea Avenue to get my bearings straight. Ten rock ninja immediately surrounded me.

"Damn!"

Making several hand signs one of the largest of the group made the ground under me cave in, burying me up to my neck. He laughed in delight as a bomb tag popped out of 'my' head to reveal that 'I' was in fact a puppet. I could feel the heart stopping shock from the explosion even thought I was nearly a quarter of a mile away. Just then I heard a sound that made heart skip a beat. It was the roar of dozens of shinobi pouring into the village, but not just any shinobi. Konoha ninjas!

I cheered, leaping on the roof of the academy, as the first wave passed by me. The jonin from camp landed a few feet away from me. "Don't worry! We'll take it from here." He exclaims summoning a terrifying looking bear.

"Wow!" I sigh, sprinting towards the hospital."Everyone has an animal except me."

--

Aritomo dashed between two water ninja and shanked them straight on. His eyes flashed black as the ninja fell. Taro fell onto a group of unsuspecting rock ninja in the form of an elephant. Aritomo sighed in frustration. "That is so gross, Taro! Don't you know any other, less nasty techniques?" Taro tried to 

brush the blood off of the bottom of his robe. "The art of transformation is my best Jutsu! I'm afraid to do anything else!" He whined; his bottom lip pursed slightly.

Yumi landed in front of the two boys and wiped the grime from her cheeks. "Do you think ANBU-san okay?" she asked, her voice heavy with worry. "He's been in there for a long time." Yumi pointed at the abandoned flower shop where Jero had ran in to about twenty minutes earlier.

"He's fine! He's just feeling sick right now." Aritomo tried to sound truthful. "Yeah! Ya' hear that Yumi! ANBU-sans' probly got the runs or somethin'! Don't even worry about it!" Aritomo glared at Taro for his brash comment.

Inside, (After undoing the transformation jutsu) Jero sat on the floor groaning in agony and rubbing his swollen belly. He grimaced as another wave of pain hit him. He bit his bottom lip to stifle a scream and tore at the carpet with his hands until the pain dissipated leaving nothing but a numb ache on his back and sides. He wiped the blood from his bottom lip before it dripped on his clothes. He breathed deeply,but the pains were now coming every twenty minutes it seemed, with lighter pains in between.

He no longer heard the sound of approaching shinobi so he guessed he could calm down for the first time in a while, even though he felt like he could burst any second. The babies kicked and moved more than they ever had before and now positioned themselves deep into Jero's pelvis. He stroked his uncomfortably bulging stomach, thinking and about Naruko and the message he had sent her over an hour and thirty minutes ago. Jero sighed and made the handsigns, turning once again into his former self.

He stood up using his arms and legs as support, a technique that worked pretty well. Once outside he was greeted by Taro's whining. "Well it's about time!! What were you doing in there?! Did you run out of toilet paper or wha—WHAK!!" Aritomo smacked Taro over the head. Yumi blushed ferociously as she joined Aritomo in beating the living daylights out of Taro.

Suddenly the group was encircled by a dozen rock ninja. Taro leaped up and guarded Yumi. Aritomo's sharingan flickered on as he tried to assess the situation, a kunai trembling in his hand.

"Ohh, bad time to plan your little play date, children. At least you all get to die together." One ninja jeered. His eyes flew open as he felt a cold blade against his neck. All of his subordinates fell to reveal a 

Jero standing behind each of them, brandishing a kunai. Jero pressed the kunai deeper into the to the quaking shinobi's throat.

"Well, at least you all get to die together…" Jero whispered into his ear.

--

sorry! just needed to fix some grammer! Bad gramatically incorrect Ninja!Bad!


	14. Chapter 14

"ANBU-san! That was soo cool! Yeah!!" Taro hopped up and down in circles trying to contain his excitement.

Aritomo stood speechless and wide eyed. "I-I couldn't even see that with my sharingan…" he mumbled to himself.

"ANBU-san, are you okay?" Yumi took a step forward to get a closer look. "Oh! I'm fine Yumi-chan!" Jero grinned and scratched the back of his neck. "Hey! ANBU-san!! I'm awesome like you! Look!" Taro ran up behind Yumi and lifted her up over his head. "See!" Taro squeaked trembling under the weight of the tiny girl.

"Put her down, Taro!!" Aritomo blushed as he got a face full of Yumi's flowered panties.

Jero turned to look at his reflection in the half broken glass window of the flower shop. The dark circles under his eyes had worsened considerably. He was flushed and he looked tired. Uncomfortable as he was, his obligation to Konoha seemed more important right now.

Unexpectedly, Jero felt another contraction coming. He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around his abdomen. "Argh-!!" he stopped himself mid-cry and gnashed his teeth together as everything started to fade black. The three children immediately stopped their bickering and huddled over Jero.

"ANBU-san, Are you ok?!" "Oh, Ari-san! He doesn't look very good!" Jero turned his head to see the faces darken and fade in and out of focus. "That's it ANBU-san! You're going to the Hospital." The voices faded to nothing.

Jero awoke to the falling sensation of landing on the roof of a building. He heard Taro and Yumi squabble under his arms. His lower abdomen ached as if he had done a thousand sit-ups. He wondered if this was normal.

"GET DOWN!!"

Aritomo threw himself in the path of a rain of shuriken, aimed strait at Jero and the gang and got pinned to the ground in a bloody heap.

"ARITOMO!!" Taro cried in despair. Yumi screamed in terror as a single ninja appeared a few inches in front of her. "The Jonin goes first!" He yelled as he punched Jero straight in the stomach.

--

Jero!!Aritomo!! NOOO!! Way to go great author-san! You just killed off your favorite characters!YYsniffle

PLEEEEEZE COMMENT! or i swear he'll be pregnant forever(that would be so gross)! Sorry I havent gotten to the birth yet! Soon I promise! Just trying to build tension here!Please don't leave me!


	15. Chapter 15

The blackness faded to bright light. Jero could hear the hum of the florescent light above his head and as his vision came into focus he saw the small figure of Aritomo standing in a hospital doorway twenty feet or so away from him. Expecting to feel the surge of pain that would accompany his last memory of being hit in the stomach, Jero was surprised to actually feel well for the first time in eight months. Light and energized, not heavy and drained. The shock of reality suddenly hit him at that moment.

Wait!! I was hit in the stomach! The babies!! And Aritomo!! He got killed trying to protect everyone!! Taro and Yumi!! Where are they?

Jero placed his hands over his flat stomach trying to search for any movement or sign that they were still alive. Aritomo turned around, noticing Jero had awakened. "ANBU-san, you're awake!" The small boy ran and knelt beside the sitting Jero who looked up at him with slight desperation in his eyes.

"What happened? I thought you were dead."

Aritomo smirked shyly, a blush burning the ends of his cheeks. "Your technique…I didn't see it very well, but I figured it out. It was a variant of the substitution jutsu. I used it to get the shinobi's teammates that were hiding in the shadows." His eyes fell to Jero's stomach. "I didn't think that ninja would attack you, I mean- I thought Taro and Yumi would- or you could fight…" his voice faded with shame. Aritomo looked up expecting to get reprimanded for his inability to react as a good team leader. His eyes widened to see Jero, with tears running down his face, which had frozen into a blank expression of shock.

"A-ANBU-san…" Aritomo stated slowly not sure how to react. "ANBU-san! Taro and Yumi are okay! They're downstairs in the Hospital getting treated! And I'm okay too! After you got hit-," His voice trailed as he realized he would probably make things worse by repeating what had happened.

"I-I can't believe it…" Jero whispered softly. "I was always the best. I-I could always successfully pull off any mission I was given…" He looked up, his eyes dark and cold. "But, I failed the most important mission." He put his hands over his face and trembled feeling so horrible and alone.

"This stopped being a mission a long time ago, Jero."

Aritomo leapt to his feet. How could he not have noticed the young kunoichi, walking slowly down the poorly lit hallway? He grabbed a kunai in his hand and held it tightly, ready to defend Jero with his life. As the shinobi got closer he noticed her torn and battered ANBU outfit was one of a Konoha medical 

specialist. He stared in awe as she got closer, dropping his kunai completely as she towered in front of him. Removing her mask she looked down at the small boy whose eyes were wide in trepidation. She knelt in front of Jero who sat curled, holding his head in his hands.

Aritomo stared. Her eyes were so pretty and they radiated nothing but love towards Jero. She reached out and brushed some strands of hair from in front of Jero's face. She smiled slowly as he looked up.

"Naru-chan…" he whispered through tears.

"I should never have left you, Jero…" Naruko said, shaking her head slowly, wiping a stray tear from Jero's cheek with her index finger.

"Naru-chan...I-I couldn't save them…" he stated ashamedly. Naruko hugged Jero tightly. "It's alright, Jero. I understand."

"BUT ANBU-SAAAAN!!" Aritomo uncharacteristically whined ripping the two angst ridden lovers apart.

"You never let me finish the storyyyy!! You see after that guy hit you in the stomach the most amazing thing happened! I saw everything with my sharingan!!All the chakra you had stored in you, shot into the guy and like, devoured him!! He was all screaming and stuff when the chakra started going off like fireworks!!" The little boy declared wildly, jumping up and down as Taro would.

"Then it transferred back to you and I saw it all!! Your chakra flow corrected itself and started healing you at an amazing rate! It was crazy!! Then you passed out, but…" his voice trailed as he seemed to calm down. Aritomo stepped forward and rested his hand between them on Jero's stomach, causing Naruko to pull away and look down at Jero's flat stomach.

Aritomo's eyes flashed red. "They're still alive…just tired, I guess." He grinned wide, his cheeks flushing.

Naruko and Jero's eyes met as they glanced up at each other. Suddenly Jero burst into tears. Burring his face into Naruko's chest he sobbed loudly, releasing all the anxiety, and sadness he had accumulated over the nearly four months alone. Naruko held him closer and rocked him gently crying as well. She looked up at Aritomo and nodded, "Thank you for looking out for him. You can go down stairs and get treated with your teammates." Aritomo nodded and stood up. Opening the door he took one last glance at the two ANBU. He smiled hoping one day he could be that happy.

--

Okay...I'm sooo sorry I have not written in forever!! Two weeks was spent on vacation and the rest, I had massive writers block!!

AAAny wayz...I had always wanted Aritomo to not be as serious as Sasuke, but not as silly as Obito but he ended up being too stern. I'd like to think that Aritomo would be as silly as Taro if only Taro wouldnt beat him to it!

I wanted the character to be the a good fighter that was in the original Naruto series, but no one fit the age bracket! So I just had to make one up. It kind of sucks because since Aritomo's an Uchiha...you know...

Well be waitin' for the next chapter and sorry again! The big moment is coming up so don't miss it! Comment plz and have a nice day!!


	16. Chapter 16

"Jero…You have to wake up…"

Jero stirred "Okay, Naru-chan…I'll get breakfast…" Jero yawned groggily. Naruko chuckled softly.

"No Jero…we're still at the hospital. You fell asleep. On me. Jero, did you get any sleep while I was away?"

Jero rubbed his tired eyes with the outsides of his hands. "Yes, but not a lot. The babies move and kick constantly at night." He leaned back against the wall, making room for his bulging stomach. Sighing he rubbed the side of his belly that could no longer be contained by the shirt of his black op uniform. He guessed the illusion broke while he slept and Naruko must have removed his grey ANBU vest to make room for his stomach.

Sitting next to him, Naruko looked over at Jero and pushed a few stray bang hairs from his face. She smiled. "Your hair grew longer, Jero."

Jero surprisingly blushed as Naruko placed her hand right over where the children laid, low in his belly. "That's not the only thing that grew," Jero groaned.

"I think you look adorable."Naruko snuck her hand up his shirt and massaged the tight muscles of his extremely firm abdomen. She giggled when she saw his belly button.

He failed to contain his laughter. "Thanks…Stop it! That tickles like crazy! Let's go home."

"What were you doing here with a transformation jutsu on? When I saw you like that, I thought…" Naruko couldn't finish her sentence. She stood and looked for a way to help Jero up. "I had been feeling really bad contractions earlier. I was trying to get to the Hospital when the village was attacked." Jero grunted attempting to stand with Naruko's help, but losing his balance and sliding down again. "A group of academy students found me and helped me send the falcons to warn everybody."

"Contractions?" Naruko frowned with worry. "Jero, you're not due to deliver for another two months. The babies need the extra month to grow." They attempted and failed once more.

"I don't see how? I don't think I could get any bigger, Naru-chan." Jero grunted gaining his balance. Naruko nodded in agreement. Jero seemed at his limit. She was wondering if he would agree to a prescription of two months of bed rest.

Naruko pulled Jero up by his hand until he stood next to her. "I wouldn't worry Naru-chan. It was probably just a false alar-," Jero's legs buckled under him. Naruko was barely able to slow his descent.

"Jero! Jero, what's wrong? Jero, honey, please look at me! Are you okay!?" Naruko questioned in a shaky voice as she held each of Jero's hands in hers. Jero squeezed her hands until they were white, trembling uncontrollably. Naruko crouched lower to see his face, as it was obscured by his hair.

Jero threw his head into the air revealing his face, twisted in agony. He finally let out the sharp scream he had been trying to suppress the whole time. Naruko's eyes were wide in shock. She had never heard Jero yell like that before. Suddenly the sound of water splashing on to the tile floor could be heard over Jero's cries.

Jero's hands dropped to the floor. He attempted to catch his breath, panting as though he had run ten miles. A pinkish puddle of water crawled quickly from under him. He looked up at Naruko, terrified.

Naruko glanced down the hallway. Summoning all the chakra she could gather, she lifted Jero in her arms and carefully made her way to the nearest room. She laid him down cautiously, for she thought she could feel his body tensing with the oncoming pain of another contraction. She was right, because no sooner had she put him down, he clutched his stomach and cried out once more, rocking from side to side. His head slammed onto the pillow as he tried to catch his breath once more. Naruko blushed as she removed his clothes to get a better look. She gasped at what she saw.

"Naruko…whats-whats wrong?" Jero asked between breaths grasping his stomach.

"Jero. I know I never prepared you for this, but in a few minutes I'm going to ask you to push. The pressure the babies put on your pelvis was too great. They tore a canal and you seem to be dilated at 8 cm. Just push when I say so, okay. I know you can do this Jero."

Jero nodded unsurely. A natural child birth? He stared up at the ceiling scared out of his mind. Tears started to form on the corners of his eye lids. What if I can't do it?

Naruko suddenly appeared in his view and rubbed his flushed and sweating face and neck with a damp rag. "Don't worry, Jero. Everything's going to be fine. I promise you guys." She stated placing her other hand on Jero's aching stomach. Jero smiled, the cold rag soothing him, knowing no matter what happened Naruko would be there to help him see it through.


	17. Chapter 17

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAH!! Yes the moment is finally here!! It's kinda long but it's here!

* * *

"Aaaaaauugghh!!Arrrgh!!"

"You're doing great Jero! You're fully dilated now. Just a little bit longer."

"You said that…45… minutes ago Naru-chan." Jero's voice was tipped with agitation and sounded weak and breathless. Naruko looked down at the floor.

The past three hours have been hell for Jero. It was too late at this point to attempt the scheduled c-section. The temporary uterus is contracting erratically and being a male, Jero's lower body muscles are not built to push out a child. He bleeds out occasionally, so the threat of hemorrhage is very real.

Jero grabbed the sheets and clenched his teeth. "Is it another contraction, Jero?"

He nodded shoving his head back into the pillow.

I struggled to stop the bleeding. Jero writhed on the bed grabbing his head to suppress a cry. I was nearly out of chakra using just enough to end the bleeding for good, so at the moment I felt helpless to ease Jero's pain without medication. This being the first ever experiment of its kind, I was hesitant to use medications, fearing harm to the children. I jotted down notes in a log I had been keeping since the beginning of the experiment of anything that seemed important at the time.

The contraction faded and Jero's head fell back against the pillow as he whimpered slightly with each breath. I looked at his charts again. 'This is taking way too long. The first baby should have at least started crowning by now. Maybe there's something wrong with the position of the fetuses or maybe Jero is tensing up too much' I looked up at Jero in fright, realizing I had thought out loud. He laid, his arms crossed over his eyes. I gave a sigh of relief when I saw he wasn't crying. He seemed to be resting. I wasn't sure if he had passed out or was asleep as I stepped forward. Something about him made me stop to take a closer look. My head seemed to mist over.

This was the same man that I knew at the academy growing up, graduating top of his class to become team captain of my squad. The same man who had saved my life countless times on the battle field. The one I totally fell in love with without even realizing it at the time. The strongest man I knew, now carrying inside him our two children. It only made me admire him more.

The curve of his stomach made a large mound in the center of the bed. I could remember 4 months ago, as his stomach grew, he would frame his arms around it; His left arm resting on top and his right supporting the bottom. He would look so beautiful, I never wanted to let him out of my sight. It was a 

strong, lovably soft, beauty that his pregnancy seemed to only accentuate. Before I knew it I was already sitting on the side of the bed unable to keep my eyes off of him.

"What're you doing?"Jero asked in a tired tone, almost breaking me from my fog.

I looked at him and smiled. "Remembering why I fell in love with you in the first place."

A small blush could be seen through flushed cheeks as he looked at his stomach mound. "This isn't me."He stated softly rubbing his belly over the sheets. My smile dissipated.

'How could he think that? Does he hate himself? Does he hate me for it?'

To Jero's surprise I climbed onto the bed and sat behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist and holding him close.

"No, Jero. This** is** you. You're just protecting something a little bit more."Jero's eyes widened, remembering what he had told Aritomo, hours earlier. Abruptly, the numb ache in his lower abdomen grew into a screaming contraction once more. Naruko grabbed his hand. "It's going to be okay, Jero. Just breathe." Jero nodded and breathed steadily until another pain hit him. He tensed up and groaned though clenched teeth. Jero fell back on Naruko, who squeezed his hand tighter. She saw the problem immediately.

As the contraction faded Naruko wiped the sweat from Jero's face. "Jero, don't tense up next time. If you keep tensing up like that we'll never get through this." She suggested in a worried tone. Jero nodded, clearly exhausted. Naruko was concerned.

She began massaging his shoulders and back. This seemed to calm him down. She rubbed his lower back which seemed to be where most of his pain resided. Jero mumbled something to himself, truly relaxing for the first time in a few years. She moved her hands to his stomach and massaged all the tense muscles there, causing Jero to burst out laughing, prompting Naruko to start tickling him. Jero and Naruko laughed and giggled more than they could ever have remembered; she seemed to almost be making up for lost time. Finally Naruko stopped and let Jero catch his breath. Wiping tears from the corners of his eyes, Jero laid back and rested against her, his hands resting on top of hers as she rubbed a tender spot on his belly. "I hope we can always be like this Jero." Naruko cooed into his ear. Jero smirked softly, feeling another contraction coming, but getting what Naruko meant. "Me too…"

Suddenly, Jero grabbed Naruko's hand and squeezed it tightly. Naruko looked down at Jero, who stared back with dark, wide eyes.

"Naruko, they're coming. Th-they're almost here! I can feel it!" Jero winced in pain. "Naruko! Th-they're t-tearing….Auuuggghhh!!"

Naruko leaped off the bed and put on a face mask. She lifted the sheet and assessed the situation. "C'mon Jero. Push." She ordered. It was only a few seconds before she saw a head appear. Jero screamed louder, panting ferociously. Naruko was stunned for a moment, actually seeing a baby made it feel so real.

"NARUKO!!" Jero cried out breaking her from her daze.

"Jero, once more."

"AAARRGGHHH!! Hff!!Hff!! GRRRAAAAAHHH!!" Jero's screams got stronger as the baby was pushed out further and further, splitting the narrow birth canal wider.

"You're almost there! Again!"

"Aaaaaaaauuuuuccchhhhhh!!Hff! Hff! Naruko! No, no! I c-can't do it!!" Jero pleaded.

"Jero! Please! We've come so far! She's almost here! Just one more time, okay!"

"HRRRAAAAAAAHHHH!! Hff! Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrggghhhh!! AAAAH!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"

The high pitched cries of little Tsubame filled the room. Jero fell back onto the pillow crying and gasping for breath as he clutched his stomach. "Oh, Jero!! She's beautiful!" I tied and cut the umbilical cord, quickly rushing her away to be cleaned and vaccinated. As I washed away all the blood and fluid I marveled at how much she looked like Jero. Same dark hair and pale skin, but she seemed to have my eyes.

I cooed to her as she whimpered softly, clearly missing the warmth and safety of Jero's womb. I weighed Tsubame and nearly cried having to give her the shots that made her scream out in pain. After a lot of searching I was able to find the diapers and one-sies in a drawer. I picked yellow one and snapped it on her, it being a gender neutral color. She didn't seem the kind of baby for pink. I wrapped her in a thermal blanket and made my way back to Jero's room.

I found him asleep breathing softly, but still holding his belly. As I stepped forward his tired eyes opened slowly. I placed Tsubame in his arms and walked to the end of the bed to clean up the afterbirth he had delivered during my absence. He held her there, unable to take his eyes off of her. Tsubame yawned sleepily and wriggled causing Jero freak-out slightly. I smiled. "She takes after her father."

"What if I break her?" he breathed softly, unable to avert his loving gaze. "Don't worry, Jero. If she's anything like you, she's stronger than you think. You delivered an eight pound two ounce baby tonight. Tell me when you feel the other baby coming."

After some time I finished cleaning and looked over the sheet to see Jero holding Tsubame close. His face was soft and gentle next to hers. Serene for the first time in hours. But something seemed wrong. Where was the second baby? It should have been here by now. What if it has complications? How would I tell Jero? The thought took me back to the day we thought we lost them? I can't make Jero go through that again! Even if everything is fine, in his current condition delivery of the second child could kill him too. As these questions swirled in my head I came to a conclusion. Using as much medical chakra as I could spare, I healed the torn canal the baby ripped through Jero. I rushed to the storage room grabbing a small vial and filling a syringe with its contents popping a hyrogan as I walked out.

I entered the room once more, standing next to Jero and my daughter as he held her tenderly. I rubbed his arm to numb it finally sticking the needle and injecting the fluid into his shoulder. "I love you Na-" Jero stopped mid sentence to see me placing the empty needle on the side table. His eyes glanced from the table to me. I leaned in and kissed his forehead, his eyes still bewildered as I stood up straight, lifting Tsubame from his arms.

"I love you, too Jero. I hope you can forgive me for this." His head fell back against the pillow as his eye lids began to get heavy. "Naru-cha-" his voice faded as his eyelids shut.

--

Ohhhh...interesting...Well anyways! I hope you guys are happy now that the first baby was delivered. I know I am! whew! It took long enough!! I know, I know! Writers block is a beast! Well I hope you liked it and the next one will be out soon! Easy Reading!


	18. Chapter 18

I sat by Jero's bedside hands folded in front of my face trying to convince myself that my decision was the right one. Jero's face was pale and drawn from the surgery, reminding me of the agony he had experienced at the start of all this. His once large stomach had reduced its size after the surgery, but still protruded some. I sighed holding my head in my hands, the anxiety making it pound. My eyes brightened as I looked up to see Jero awake, his eyes attempting to focus at the wall opposite to him.

"Hey…" was the only thing I could say as I stood up and caressed his cheek with my hand. He looked up at me tired and confused.

"W-why-" he touched his stomach and winced in pain, breaking his sentence. "What did you do, Naruko!!"

I fell back into my chair. Jero had never yelled at me like this before and it was terrifying. Getting energy from his anger he looked around the room. "Where's Tsubame?! What have you done with my babies!? Get this fucking thing off of me!" Jero tore at the IV in his wrist. I leaped up and grabbed his hand before it did any damage. I grabbed his other hand I held him down with all my strength. He struggled under me before succumbing to the exhaustion of surgery. I panted over him and finally collapsed on him from my own exhaustion.

"Naru-chan…where are they?" Jero pleaded his voice pleading and weak. I hugged him tightly.

"Jero…I have to show you something."

I wheeled Jero down the cold, war torn hallway hall. He sat silent, staring at the tile floor, hands wrapped gingerly around his stomach, still screaming with the pain of surgery. Jero lifted his head as I turned to the intensive care unit.

"There they are."

Jero gasped, clasping his hands over his mouth.

"I'm so sorry, Jero. I should've told you what I was doing at the time, but I was scared…I decided to perform the c-section after all." My face fell as I pushed the wheel chair closer to the incubator.

"Naruko, what happened?" Jero's voice faltered as a sob broke through.

The undersized, bruised baby was hooked up to a respirator, and a monitor showing the minute beating of his heart.

"I don't understand it. He's two months premature. The cord was wrapped around his neck, Jero. If he had been delivered like Tsubame, he would have died. The bruising was caused when he took the full blow of the hit. The next 48 hours are critical." I tried to explain it without crying. Tsubame lay wriggling in a basinet of her own, feeling partculary good after her meal of baby formula, I found in the store room.

I kneeled to comfort, Jero who cried softly to himself. "What h-have I done?!" he murmured. I held him tight and rocked him back and forth for a few minutes until he calmed down, his sobs now nothing more than hics and sniffles. "Everything is going to be fine, Jero. I promise!" Jero looked up and nodded snuffling. I smiled, rubbing the tears from his eyes. "I won't let anything happen to any of you, remember?" Jero smiled a beautiful smile. "I know…"

"I love you so much, Jero. Please forgive me."

"I already have. Can I get closer to him, Naru-chan?"

"Sure…"

Jero's eyebrows slanted in worry. "He's so tiny, Naru-chan…but he looks just like you."

My cheeks burned with embarrassment, a trait that I hoped would not be passed on to my son. "He does not. He takes after you, can't you tell? Look at his eyes."

"Yes, but his hair, his skin, even his nose, Naru-chan. It's you!" I rested my head on Jero's shoulder and sighed.

"Jero, we still haven't decided what to name him yet."

"I think I have an idea…"

Name: Umino Tsubame DOB: May26 Time: 2:36 am Weight: 8lbs 2oz

Name: Umino Iruka DOB: May 26 Time: 3:13 am Weight: 4lbs 1oz

Mission Success.

--

Hey wait! The story isn't over yet!! I want to thank everyone for reading part one of Yesterday's Parents! Yeah I'm still alive! It's just school and everything….well I digress! Anyways! If I had to pick one I would 

have to say that the theme song to part one is Si no te Hubieras ido by Mana. Go ahead and look it up on Youtube! For all of you that are not familiar with Spanish, here are the translated lyrics!

Theme song for **Yesterday's Parents**

Si no te hubieras ido 

Preformed by Mana

Translated lyrics

Strangeness more than ever and I know not what to do  
Awakened at dawn and I remember you  
I hope to live another day without you  
The mirror lies not, it's so different you see  
I needed you

People pass and pass  
Always the same  
The rhythm of life seems wrong  
It was so different when you were here  
Yes; it was so different when you were here...

Chorus2x  
There is nothing harder than to live without you  
Suffering in the hopes of seeing you arrive,  
The cold body of my question for you, and I know not where you are,  
If you had not left I would be so happy

People pass and pass

Always the same

The rhythm of life seems wrong  
It was so different when you were here  
Yes; it was so different when you were here...

Chorus 2x  
There is nothing more difficult than to live without you  
Suffering in the hopes of seeing you arrive,  
The cold body of my question for you and I know not where you are,  
If you had not left I would be so happy….

To hear, just go to YouTube and type in Mana. It should be the first choice you see when it gives you options.

It's a really pretty song! Oh yeah! Ugh! I 'd hate to go back and change it so, last chapter when Jero was holding Tsubame I was planning for him to hum/maybe sing a song to her…yeah! But I forgot! Just pretend it happened OK!! The song would have been Follow me by Beck Mongolian Chop Squad. Look for that on youtube also if you want! Thank you so much for reading and comments are always appreciated….yup! You guys are awesome!!


	19. Chapter 19

Birds sang, tweeting outside the window, open just enough to let the early autumn breeze waft in. A baby lay quietly in his crib, watching little fibers, only made visible by the streams of sunlight, float in the gentle wind. He hoped the man would come in soon, for it was getting a little too cool in the room. Outside his door he heard the nice, pretty lady's voice.

"Jero, could you get Iruka. I'm getting Tsubame ready."

"Sure thing."

There it was! The man's voice! The baby wiggled eagerly in his crib as he heard the footsteps get closer. A face appears over him.

"I swear, I think that baby waits for you."

The baby grins happily and rocks side to side reaching out to the man. The man smiles and picks him up holding the infant gingerly against his chest.

The baby coos softly, looking up in awe at the man who smiles so gently. "She's just jealous of the Umino men and their good looks." the man tells the boy, laying him on a changing table.

The man snaps off the baby's onesy and blows a raspberry on the child's bare stomach, prompting it to squeal with delight. The man slips on a pair of pants and a shirt before the baby knows what's going on and lifts him into the air making the baby squeal wildly. The man laughed as he brought him back down and held him once more. There was no doubt about it, he loved the man. The baby pressed his face into the man's strong, firm chest feeling safe and secure, not even noticing they had made their way to the living room where the nice, pretty lady stood holding the wild little girl who attempted to grasp her hair.

"Are we ready, Jero? Tsubame!?" The baby had shoved her fingers into Naruko's nose.

"Wanna trade?" Jero asked sniggering.

Tsubame squealed in Jero's arms, laughing and kicking the air. Jero grinned and stunned her with a big kiss. Soon Tsubame was quietly resting her head against Jero's shoulder as the family made their way into the city.

" Heeeeyyyy!! Heads up!!" Yoshino made a rough landing a few feet in front of them, loaded down with bags and packages that spilled over onto the ground. Iruka laughed. It's the funny lady!! He liked the funny lady!

"Okay! There was this big sale over there at the baby store thing, and I didn't know what color they looked better in so I got one of each! Oh! And do they have blankets? Y'know winter's coming and you don't want them to get sick!"

"Yoshino, you don't have to get them anything." Jero picked up a teddy bear and handed it to her.

"No! Please! I'm a godmother! It's my thing."

"But, Yoshino we can't…" Naruko started.

Yoshino's bottom lip protruded and her eyes got glassy.

"Fine! Drop it off at the house."

"YAYZ!" Yoshino took off at top speed, crashing into an innocent bystander about 5 yards away and landed on top of him.

"Yoshino!?" The family rushed to her side. Dazed, Yoshino sat up and rubbed her head. "What's the big idea getting in my way punk?!"

"Hey. You're the one that ran into me! What a pain in the ass!" He stood up and stuck out his hand to help her up. She took his hand, but continued to chew him out, so he let go prompting her to fall back on her ass. "You dirty son of a-" she blindsided him with a teddy bear. The family gave them room, finally going about their own business.

"OKAY! OKAY! Stop hitting me! Look! I'll just-Wait-STOP IT!! I'll help you take your crap home! Where do you live?" Yoshino stopped and blushed, kneeling down and picking up all of the baby clothes and stuff off the ground. The guy kneeled down and helped her. Yoshino blushed even more. "No, really you don't have to…"

"No, really. It's a drag, but I just got back from a mission and I don't have anything better to do, so yeah. What do you say?" He stood up with three bags in hand and waited for Yoshino to answer.

"Well, uhh, sure." Yoshino blushed furiously, thinking that this is how Naruko must have felt every minute of every day of her life. She looked up and grinned as pleasantly as she could. "I would like that."

The guy was taken aback for a moment, at how pretty she looked for just a fleeting moment. He coughed awkwardly into his hand to stop himself from staring. He rubbed the back of his neck and followed the girl down the road, not sure of what he was really getting himself into.

"So," He said after a while. "I'm Nara Shikaku. What's your name?"

"Uhh, I'm Yoshino. Watsuki Yoshino." They continued down the road that was getting less crowded with each passing block, stealing fleeting glances when the other was not looking.

"That's a nice name." The boy quickened his pace and walked a few steps in front of the stunned girl to conceal his reddening face.

--

Yessss! Heres the first chapter to part deux! Hope ya like it!


	20. Chapter 20

Iruka had nodded awake as the family entered the rebuilt Konoha Hospital. Tsubame still slept, her head resting against Jero's chest. They signed in and the receptionist pointed them down the hallway. Iruka was fully awake by now, wondering where he was. All this walking was making the baby anxious and restless. He squirmed uneasily in Naruko's arms, a whine rising in his throat, before she hushed him lifting him higher in her arms. He pressed his face into her shoulder and wished he could go back home.

"Lady Tsunade, what are you doing here?" The family was surprised to see one of the legendary Sanin standing in their presence.

She turned around, chart in hand surrounded by a small group of Konoha's finest medical ninjas. "The Hokage couldn't make it, so I'm standing in as supervisor of this exam. I'm looking forward to reading your report on the mission." The busty medical nin reached over and shook the star struck Naruko's hand.

Naruko blushed like mad, handing the report over, barely believing she could be in the presence of her idol, the legendary Lady Tsunade! "Oh, and you must be Jero! I've heard a lot about you as well. As a part of the exam we will have to do a physical on you as well." Jero nodded, astounded to be shaking hands with Tsunade.

Iruka didn't like this. Tsubame was barely coming to in Jero's arms, yawning and surveying her surroundings. She didn't seem to mind. The medical ninjas conversed amongst themselves, pointing at their clipboards and looking over at Iruka, then Tsubame every now and again. "Okay, I bet everyone here has another place to be pretty soon, so let's get this exam started.

Naruko and Jero stepped forward placing the children on stainless steel tables. Iruka held on to Naruko's shoulder for dear life, tears starting to appear on the edges of his eyes.

"It's okay, Iruka." Naruko cooed into his ear. She wiped the tears away with her index finger before they fell. "Mommy won't let anything bad happen." He let go, his face scrunched, holding back a sob with all his strength. Tsubame looked around, still unsure of where she was.

And the exam began. The medical nin waisted no time in weighing the babies, getting temperature, checking their eyes, noses, ears and throats. Tsunade looked over the report with Naruko, nodding and gesturing every now and again. Other medical nin examined Jero's shirtless body and overall health, marveling at how he had regained his 'figure' so fast. All this was getting to be too much for Iruka. So many people. There were too many people. It was too loud and crowded. It was making him nervous. He whimpered, reaching to Naruko through the crowd of doctors, but she was busy with Tsunade, then Jero, but he was still being examined. He was so busy he didn't notice the nurse coming up behind him with a syringe. He whirled his head, hearing Tsubame squeal as the needle prodded her, removing a small vial of blood. It was then that he noticed he had an equally large (to a baby) needle sticking out of his arm.

"AAAWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH…!!AAAAAHHHHH!!" The piercing cry echoed stunning everyone within a 500 foot radius. His scream echoed down the hallway as befuddled nurses and doctors stuck their heads out the doors to see where all the commotion was coming from. The nurse stepped back needle still in hand as visible chakra oozed from the wound and slithered its way up and wrapped around the syringe. The needle flew across the room and darted itself inches from Tsunade's head. The room was silent, albeit Iruka's sobbing. Even the usually rambunctious Tsubame was quiet, clinging to the sleeve of the nurse she feared only seconds earlier.

Naruko and a still shirtless Jero pushed through the forest of nurses, concerned looks on their faces. Jero got to him first and picked up the crying baby, holding him tight against his bare chest. Naruko grabbed a blanket from the baby bag and wrapped it around Iruka, who shivered and sobbed against his father's shoulder. Jero rested his head on Iruka's and tried to console the child, whispering inaudibly to him. Suddenly the parents, realizing where they were, turned to Tsunade.

"I am so sorry Lady Tsunade. I can't believe this happened. I mean—He never acts this way at home." Jero stumbled over the words, feeling his shirtless awkwardness sink in. Naruko took Iruka, while Jero searched for his shirt.

"This is- I mean, Lady Tsuna-" The Sannin stopped her midsentence. "That was very impressive." She said, walking to the wall and plucking the syringe from between the bricks. "I guess this was your work, huh, Jero?"

The now fully clothed Jero blushed, standing next to his wife, Tsubame propped up in his arms. "Yeah…I guess it is."

Tsubame grinned. "That's all the information we need. I expect to see good things from these kids." She waved to the doctors who walked out the door single file. She made her way toward the family. Tsubame looked up in awe while Iruka cautiously turned his head.

"I hope there are no hard feelings." She addressed the two babies softly, holding both of her hands in front of her. She closed them into fists, and then opened them again, revealing a lollipop in each hand. Tsubame smiled giggling with glee and grabbed the treat. Iruka warily stuck a small hand out, seized the candy and hugged it close. Tsunade smiled.

"Just like his Father." This got Jero's attention. "He likes to keep the things that matter most close to him. But he's got his Mother's sweet face."She turned and walk out of the room leaving it still and quiet.


End file.
